What if the city could build a rapid-transit system with buses, without changing the entire Transitway - saving both time and mega-money?

And what if it would be just as good as light rail?

Haydon has been trying to get the public and politicians to take a second, serious look at bus rapid transit.

It's been tough going.

But it appears Haydon is slowly but surely getting a little more respect.

The problem for Haydon is, as more people take notice, the city continues to inch along with its light-rail plan.

And the farther along council goes, the less likely it will be to reverse its decision.

In fact, there seems to be a quiet desperation, with many councillors admitting privately - and few admitting publicly - they need to do something, anything, just to be seen to be doing something.

At the last council meeting, they voted to proceed with an environmental assessment for the $2.1-billion first phase of the light-rail plan.

Orleans Coun. Bob Monette spoke of meeting with Haydon and how he heard a very compelling argument for bus rapid transit.

"He almost had me convinced," said Monette.

But at council, Monette spoke of the public's pressure to move ahead.

"Do I know if this is the best plan? No, I don't," he admitted, before voting in favour of proceeding.

Frankly, can anyone really expect the public - or even councillors - to be able to wade through the mountains of documents and analyze the details, compare the numbers and come up with the definitive answer?

And she also knows the magnitude of the decision council is being asked to make.

"It is such a big investment. I know how difficult it is. I respect them. It's a game-changer. It will transform the city," she said.

Before talking about what she sees as the benefits of LRT over BRT, she praises Haydon and his role in bringing the very successful Transitway system to Ottawa.

She says in certain circumstances, in cities with certain population bases, bus rapid transit is the route to go.

"His arguments are very valid. I know I've had some councillors come to me and say, 'I just don't get it. Why can't we just run more buses, run six buses where needed.' But with six buses come six drivers, come six people calling out stops, there's all of that which comes with it.

"And that's why you get into economies of scale," she explained.

"You can imagine when you rode the subway, doors open, it is seconds. Try to emulate that with a bus every 15 to 18 seconds. You can just try to picture that with their narrow doors. It's not the same kind of ability."

Given the enormity of the decision, Schepers hired a peer review panel.

It backed up the findings in support of LRT.

"This a transformative project. It is a huge decision and we wanted council to feel they could ask those questions," she said.

While Schepers praises Haydon, Bay Coun. Alex Cullen is less conciliatory about the former regional chair's never-ending lobbying.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, this (decision) is chock block full of studies," said Cullen. "This was a major decision. We could have chosen something different ... Who's suggesting we were asleep at the switch?

"Let me talk about Andy Haydon," Cullen continued. "He did lobby me more than a year ago. He wanted to (talk about BRT). I agreed. This is a legitimate thing, let's hear from this guy, the pros and cons of BRT. Andy made his presentation, but it didn't get any traction.

"It's not relevant (now). At the time when Haydon came to speak to us, the windows were still open. We now have an approved project going forward.

"We have to have a tunnel, and LRT has been on the table since (former mayor Bob Chiarelli) looked at it," he finished.

Well, yes, that's one of the concerns. The idea for a downtown light-rail tunnel has been around since Chiarelli's time in office. And it seems council's desire for a light-rail tunnel has been set in stone for some time now. So how open were councillors' minds when the 2008 study comparing light rail with bus rapid transit was voted on?

"We can't keep re-fighting the battle of 1492 for crying out loud," Cullen said. "We go through these debates time and time again. We've made choices here, we're chewing our tail."

Mayoral candidate Jim Watson added credibility to Haydon's vision for BRT when he said it's worthy of a serious look.

Former Ottawa mayor and NCC board member
Jackie Holzman has lashed out at Mayor Jim
Watson, questioning why he didn’t intervene
earlier
on the recommendation of Tunney’s Pasture as
the
preferred site for a new Civic hospital.